He is not discouraged by the fact that such a prestigious expert as Tatiana Tarasova lobbies Kovtun’s interests

ST PETERSBURG, January 10, 0:50 /ITAR-TASS/. Yevgeny Plyushchenko, the 2006 Olympic figure-skating champion and twice Olympic silver medalist, told Itar-Tass he intended to participate in his fourth Olympics both in the team and individual events.

Although he lost Russia’s championship to Maksim Kovtun, he plans to do his best in the Sochi Olympics. He is not discouraged by the fact that such a prestigious expert as Tatiana Tarasova lobbies Kovtun’s interests. “It is for President of the Figure-Skating Federation of Russia Aleksandr Gorshkov and Federation General Director Valentin Piseyev to decide who will represent Russia in the Sochi Olympics,” Plyushchenko said.

He said he would refuse from the participation in the two events of the Sochi programme only if he did not feel one-hundred percent ready. “If I have problems with health I will surely say so,” he noted. “I will appear in the Sochi Olympics only if I feel ready to do my best,” he said.